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On October 21, 2022, Texas news outlets revealed that Department of Public Safety Sgt. Juan Maldonado was fired due to his delayed response to the Uvalde massacre. He was also charged with breaking the protocol that comes into play during active shooter situations.
On May 24, 2022, alleged gunman Salvador Ramos reportedly killed his mother before murdering 19 students and two staff members at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
In the wake of the massacre, public attention was diverted to the response of Uvalde authorities, which was considered lackluster. Several officials have been fired amidst reports that officers showed reluctance in taking action, which allowed the gunman to carry out the massacre for approximately an hour before they shot him in a fatal confrontation.
The Texas Tribune reported that Juan Maldonado was the highest-ranking State trooper to respond to the mass shooting scene. Reports suggest that Maldonado refused to enter the school for an extended period of time, although he was supposedly outside the school just 4 minutes after the shooting. It is speculated that due to this negligent behavior, he was fired on October 21, 2022.
Details of the allegations against Uvalde DPS Sgt. Maldonado
According to Fox, in an internal investigation scrutinizing the failure of local authorities in handling the shooting, Juan Maldonado was accused of breaking the typical protocol to be used in active shooter situations. His delayed response to the scene was widely criticized by the public.
As per CBS, police body cam footage captured a moment in which a Uvalde police department SWAT commander emerged from the school with bullet wounds, allegedly inflicted by Ramos in a brief exchange of fire.
The SWAT Team Commander, Sgt. Eduardo Canales is said to have urged Maldonado to enter the building.
Canales can be heard saying on camera:
“Dude, we got to get in there."
However, Maldonado allegedly told the commander to wait.
He said:
"DPS is sending people."
As per an investigative report on the internal probe into officer responses, Maldonado claimed that he did not enter the scene so that he could guard the perimeter.
Maldonado said:
“My focus was saving kids, saving whoever I could save, because it was just a horrible situation. Now if someone gave me a command … and they told me, ‘Hey you need to go here,’ I’m going to follow that instruction because that’s what I’m told to do and I’m going to follow my orders.”
Maldonado's termination from the DPS follows the suspension of the entire district police department in September 2022. Other prominent figures who have stepped down in the aftermath of the massacre include Uvalde school police chief Pete Arredondo, and District Superintendent Hal Harrell, who announced his retirement in early October.
